Classroom Resources | Grades 3 – 6 | Lesson Plan | Standard LessonAmerican Folklore: A Jigsaw Character Study
Groups of students read and discuss American folklore stories, each group reading a different story. Using a jigsaw strategy, the groups compare character traits and main plot points of the stories. A diverse selection of American folk tales is used for this lesson, which is adaptable to any text set.

Classroom Resources | Grades 4 – 7 | Lesson Plan | Standard LessonBoars and Baseball: Making Connections
In this lesson, students will make text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections after reading In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson. After sharing and discussing connections, students choose and plan a project that makes a personal connection to the text.

Classroom Resources | Grades 6 – 8 | Lesson Plan | Standard LessonCut up, Cover up, and Come Away with Ideas for Writing!
Students rework their forgotten/abandoned drafts by cutting and covering up selected words. By creatively manipulating text, they explore portal writing, a strategy for envisioning a new story or story direction.

Classroom Resources | Grades 6 – 8 | Lesson Plan | UnitExamining Island of the Blue Dolphins through a Literary Lens
After a discussion about courage and adversity and reading Scott O'Dell's Island of the Blue Dolphins, students examine Karana's character development and look for examples of courage in their community.